Sprint Cup champ: Penske Racing team being targeted

FORT WORTH, Texas — An irate Brad Keselowski said his team is being targeted by NASCAR officials after his Penske Racing team had parts on its car confiscated prior to Saturday’s race at Texas Motor Speedway.

Keselowski, the defending Sprint Cup champion, said the public has no idea the scrutiny his team has been put under from the sanctioning body in the last week.

Keselowski, speaking after the Sprint Cup race on Saturday night, was angry over the Penske teams being forced to change the rear end housing in its car as well as other pieces just prior to the NRA 500. Teammate Joey Logano had trouble getting through prerace inspection and had to start at the rear of the field before rallying to finish fifth.

NASCAR confiscated the pieces and any penalties likely will be determined by Wednesday.

“I don’t have a lot of good things to say right now,” Keselowski said following his ninth-place finish. “I take that back. I have one good thing to say and that was my team and the effort they put in today in fighting back with the absolute bull (expletive) that’s been the last seven days in this garage area.

“The things that I’ve seen over the last seven days have me questioning everything I believe in and I’m not happy about it. I don’t have anything positive to say.”

The defending Cup champion was penalized a week earlier at Martinsville Speedway for pitting outside his pit stall, a ruling his team disputed to no avail.

Keselowski, one of NASCAR’s most outspoken drivers, indicated that there are other things the public doesn’t know about concerning the treatment of his No. 2 team.

“There’s so much stuff going on, you guys have no idea — you have no (expletive) idea what’s going on,” Keselowski said. “I can tell you there is no team in this garage with the integrity of the 2 team.

“The way we’ve been treated over the last seven days is absolute shameful. I feel like we’ve been targeted over the last seven days more than I’ve ever seen a team targeted in my life. My guys keep their heads on straight and they showcased why they’re a winning team and a championship team.”

Keselowski, who already has had a private meeting with NASCAR Chairman Brian France this year for critical comments he made about the business model of the sport, said he could make a list “two pages long” of things he feels have been unfair.

“We’re not going to take it,” Keselowski said. “We’re not going to be treated this way.”

Penske two teams could face major penalties if NASCAR determines that it had illegal parts on its cars.

NASCAR has not given any indication of the penalties, but crew chief suspensions are possible.

“I’m very worried about losing my crew chief Paul Wolfe,” Keselowski said. “But I can tell you what, I’ve got one of the best car owners in the garage.

“I’m going to be the first one at his desk to tell him if anything happens like that, we’ll both be in a meeting with everybody and anybody that will listen.”

Team owner Roger Penske said he had talked with Keselowski earlier in the night and didn’t get the feeling that Keselowski was so upset. Penske said Logano’s fifth-place finish and Keselowski’s ninth with cars that were legal shows that the team wasn’t using illegal cars to run well.

“NASCAR has a job to do,” Penske said. “We’re competitors. Obviously we’re trying to get an edge on the competition, so our guys are thinking and working hard.

“(NASCAR) didn’t like what they saw in inspection. They made us take it out. You saw how well we ran without it.”

NASCAR Vice President of Competition Robin Pemberton said the teams’ rear end housing and pieces were not in the spirit of the rules.

“Whatever NASCAR does we have to do deal with it and move on,” Penske said. “Our guys are innovative. We’re looking at the rules, looking for areas that we can maybe get an edge on like everybody else is.

“I don’t think there is anything we did wrong.”

NASCAR officials had no immediate reaction to Keselowski's postrace comments.